Police Drone Tracks Down Commack Theft Suspect Hiding in Huntington Backyard After Crash: Police

HUNTINGTON, NY — A Suffolk police drone helped officers track down a woman accused of stealing from a Commack store and fleeing a crash Wednesday evening, police said.

Second Precinct officers responded to Dick’s Sporting Goods at 6070 Jericho Turnpike at 6:04 p.m. for a report of shoplifting in progress, according to Suffolk County police. Police said they saw three women and a man leaving the store before running westbound.

One of the women, Anamaria Guzman, 23, of Hempstead, got into a 2025 Hyundai Sonata and fled before crashing the vehicle on Tulsa Street in Huntington, police said. Guzman then ran from the scene.

Supervisors activated the Drones as First Responders program at 6:20 p.m., directing a drone from the Second Precinct to the area where she was last seen, police said. The drone operator, working from the Crime Analysis Center in Yaphank, used thermal imaging to scan the neighborhood and located Guzman sitting in a backyard on Tulsa Street at 6:26 p.m., according to police.

Officers were directed to the yard and took her into custody about a minute later, police said.

Guzman was taken to a hospital for evaluation after the crash. She was charged with three counts of petit larceny, leaving the scene of a crash with physical injuries, reckless driving, and unlawful fleeing, police said.

A second woman, Mercedes Hough, 21, of Hempstead, was stopped in the store parking lot and charged with petit larceny and possession of burglar's tools, police said.

Police said the man and another woman who fled the store were not located.

Both Guzman and Hough were released on desk appearance tickets and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip at a later date, police said.